Tonight I completely reworked a recording originally posted at the end of January. The title is "Sing Silently," a song about a little girl I know who has trouble sleeping after a violent break-in occurred in her home.
In the name of science, I attempted to record without any click track or time grid in place. I was hoping the lack of rigid time structure would lend an organic aesthetic to the music (a bare composition of voice with a few acoustic guitar tracks).
Fail.
Aligning tracks and editing out the no-nos without the help of organized time stamps is all but impossible for a noob like me. With practice, patience, and time, I could get the hang of recording without the click, but time is a commodity unknown to the Redline Project.
Tomorrow I will attempt a redo of the redo, this time with the familiar metronome clicking sense into my soul as I lay in the tracks.
On the sunny side, I tweaked the setup of my recording rig today, eliminating some unwanted microphone noise from the mix. Though this does not compare with completing a song for the final project, a cleaner audio signal is nevertheless an important accomplishment.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
A Nip and a Tuck
Regular readers may remember a scratch recording posted here in January. Its a tune called, "Slips Away," and it is the first full-length song form I completed for the Redline Project.
I hunkered down in Studio Redline for hours yesterday, carefully considering the ups and downs of the rough cut. I rerecorded all the vocals, added some electric guitar, polished several midi tracks, and added an all-new bridge to the mix. A little elbow grease later, a decent piece of music emanated from the monitors. If not all the way polished, "Slips Away" is now varnished with a thick coat of semi-gloss.
Though half-witted recordists would undoubtedly scrunch their noses at the music's imperfections, I am pretty well pleased with my work on the song. I let it loop through my sound system for a portion of the afternoon, mostly looking for imperfections but also enjoying the first fruits of my loving labor.
Motivated by this milestone, I proceeded to open each of the 29 files I have produced since January, jotting comments in my sketch book with every listen. When I dove into this project, I was sure that all scratch recordings would need to be completely scrapped. This is proving to be false, which is a pleasant development.
Most of my tracks need significant work, many will require complete start-overs, and some will never, ever, ever be opened again. None are even remotely ready for launch. I can cope with files that require pounds of turtle wax; I definitely favor dealing with existing music over taking it from the top.
My goal is to have another final recording in my back pocket by the conclusion of the weekend. Accomplishing this task will leave only eight pieces in need of a shoeshine, bringing the goals of the Redline Project ever closer to accomplishment.
I hunkered down in Studio Redline for hours yesterday, carefully considering the ups and downs of the rough cut. I rerecorded all the vocals, added some electric guitar, polished several midi tracks, and added an all-new bridge to the mix. A little elbow grease later, a decent piece of music emanated from the monitors. If not all the way polished, "Slips Away" is now varnished with a thick coat of semi-gloss.
Though half-witted recordists would undoubtedly scrunch their noses at the music's imperfections, I am pretty well pleased with my work on the song. I let it loop through my sound system for a portion of the afternoon, mostly looking for imperfections but also enjoying the first fruits of my loving labor.
Motivated by this milestone, I proceeded to open each of the 29 files I have produced since January, jotting comments in my sketch book with every listen. When I dove into this project, I was sure that all scratch recordings would need to be completely scrapped. This is proving to be false, which is a pleasant development.
Most of my tracks need significant work, many will require complete start-overs, and some will never, ever, ever be opened again. None are even remotely ready for launch. I can cope with files that require pounds of turtle wax; I definitely favor dealing with existing music over taking it from the top.
My goal is to have another final recording in my back pocket by the conclusion of the weekend. Accomplishing this task will leave only eight pieces in need of a shoeshine, bringing the goals of the Redline Project ever closer to accomplishment.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sifting Through
To the moment, I have composed ten pieces of music for the Redline Project - fairly prolific considering that I launched this effort at the beginning of January and progress is relegated to nights and weekends. Total playing time for these tracks (once finished) will probably land around 45 to 50 minutes, which is on the short side of a respectable full-length album.
My wife, who is famous around our house for practical wisdom, suggested I run with these rough recordings, sculpting them into final cuts that will land on the finished product. This seems a good tactic to me. Should this batch wrap up with days left over, I can always add new music at that time.
I like this approach because it turns the heat down two notches. According to my project schedule, I should complete all rough tracks by May 15. This puts the Redline Project a month and change ahead of the next deadline. Whoopie-woo!
Opening these rough tracks over the past two days has been a little like Christmas. Each scratch recording that I unearth coaxes a set of emotions. One piece needs a tweak or a touch to be presentable - like unwrapping a shiny red guitar. Another cut must be scrapped entirely in favor of a complete redo - evokes the sentiment of peeling back paper to find a six pack of striped tube socks.
So far I am making mental notes only. Tomorrow I will dive into thoroughly tearing each track apart and penning the critiques into my journal. From there, the Redline Project moves into the new and exciting phase of producing final music - tracks that I sincerely hope will make their way into the iPods of 10,000 listeners.
I feel a welcome glimmer of hope tonight that has been absent for weeks. Time for a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.
My wife, who is famous around our house for practical wisdom, suggested I run with these rough recordings, sculpting them into final cuts that will land on the finished product. This seems a good tactic to me. Should this batch wrap up with days left over, I can always add new music at that time.
I like this approach because it turns the heat down two notches. According to my project schedule, I should complete all rough tracks by May 15. This puts the Redline Project a month and change ahead of the next deadline. Whoopie-woo!
Opening these rough tracks over the past two days has been a little like Christmas. Each scratch recording that I unearth coaxes a set of emotions. One piece needs a tweak or a touch to be presentable - like unwrapping a shiny red guitar. Another cut must be scrapped entirely in favor of a complete redo - evokes the sentiment of peeling back paper to find a six pack of striped tube socks.
So far I am making mental notes only. Tomorrow I will dive into thoroughly tearing each track apart and penning the critiques into my journal. From there, the Redline Project moves into the new and exciting phase of producing final music - tracks that I sincerely hope will make their way into the iPods of 10,000 listeners.
I feel a welcome glimmer of hope tonight that has been absent for weeks. Time for a celebratory bowl of Lucky Charms.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
International Collaboration
Jan Fisher, a distant relative and one of the most faithful Redline Project blog readers, recently asked me to send him the audio files to a scratch recording. Living in Germany, Jan is an accomplished guitarist and recordist, and I have been eager to hear the results of his musical input.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!
In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Circling Back
In many ways, tonight's work on the Redline Project launches a new phase of the process. Instead of working on new musical ideas, I reopened one of the first songs I wrote for the album and got busy analyzing the delightful and wretched elements of its scratch recording.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
There were many tracks, especially those performed in MIDI, that are keepable with a bit of tweaking. It is encouraging not to have to scrap everything in the initial recording, which in turn gives me great hope about the editing of other works in progress.
This success holds hands with discouragement though; this song alone could soak up two solid weeks worth of recording and editing time, and those hours will be difficult to find. I am certain this album will be produced and released by the deadline, but on nights like this I wonder how it is all going to come together.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Lessons from Glen and Marketa
To say that I had a great time on America's highways over the weekend would be a grand understatement. The Redline Project is not a venue for personal pontification, so I will reserve my bouquet of wanderlust tales for blogs that exist elsewhere.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
The trip's relevance to the Redline Project is somewhat limited as I did not write songs, record tracks, or research software techniques while away. In short, a fuse in my mind had blown, and I gave the old brain a weekend off. I am pleased to report that my cranium is operating at full tilt, and I am ready once again to dive into the deep end of this project.
Of all the dashboard crooners that meandered around the Gulf Coast with me, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova spent a considerable amount of time singing through a stack of songs from the movie, "Once."
Have you seen the film? If you have not, go rent it tonight. If you are busy tonight, put it on the list for tomorrow. "Once" is the story of two brokenhearted musicians who meet each other in Dublin, Ireland. The two form a beautiful collaboration and discover a life-giving friendship in the process. The film is gorgeous, the plot delicious, and the music sumptuous. One lovely detail about the movie: the main actors realized their music was meant to exist past the scope of the picture and started a band that still performs today.
Why are you still reading this blog post? Go to the rental store now, or at least hit up your Netflix queue.
Beyond enjoying the music at face value, I spent ample time listening deeply to Glen and Marketa, trying to understand lyrics and their constructions, considering song structures, analyzing chords, pondering vocal techniques.
Neither Glen Hansard or Marketa Irglova have perfect voices. On the recordings, there are notes out of tune, phrases unaligned rhythmically, and even an occasional wrong note. Why then is the music so gripping, so compelling, so haunting?
Part of the answer lies in the performers' abilities to bring their songs to life with emotional conviction. Their voices cry in sad moments and rip during choruses of rage. The two singers invite the listener on a journey into the story behind the song, and it is impossible not to taste the bittersweet sentiments carefully penned for such a purpose.
I have over-thought every lyric I have written for this project, trying to saturate every line with as much meaning and emotion as it could hold. Because I deem my voice an unworthy instrument, I have relied on words alone to create meaning in the songs I am trying to sing.
With Glen and Marketa as role models, I am going to practice using whatever voice I have to deliver compelling performances of the poetry I am working so diligently to write. I would like nothing better than for my songs to be compelling and perfect, but since I have to choose, compelling may be the way to go.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Redline Project Complete
Today is a prodigious day. The Redline Project final album is ready to be released.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
April fools.
I plan on posting verbose paragraphs and recording three songs over the holiday weekend.
April fools again. There; got that out of my system.
Actually, the wife and I are headed out for some unplanned road tripping adventures around the southeast. We will be camping along the way with little or no internet access. You are welcome as always to visit the Redline Project blog, but you will not find any new material here until Monday, April 5.
Hey... everyone needs a vaction from the diligent work of blogging, right? Sincere thanks goes to the handful of readers who may actually be a touch disappointed by this. While the Redline Project fan club may be thin in numbers, its members are fortified with brilliance and creativity. Much appreciation to each of you.
For those into Good Friday and Easter, I hope you revel in the glory of life overcoming death. For those not observing the holiday, I wish you a restful, rejuvenating handful of days. See you on the other side of the weekend.
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